Random Fact Sheet #72 – 35 Quirky, Fascinating, and Absurd Facts

Pablo Picasso went on trial as a suspect for stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre.

27. Eddie Chapman was a professional criminal and prolific womanizer who became an important British double agent during World War 2. He once convinced both British and German intelligence to house and pay each of his two fiancees in opposite warzones. He is the only Briton to win the German Iron Cross.

28. During The Great War, China sent 185,000 workers (100,000 in the UK, 35,000 in France, 50,000 in Russia) to work in the European front, for various tasks: unloading military goods, digging trenches, constructing barracks and field hospitals, burying victims of war, working in armament factories.

29. In the early 80's, F14 Tomcat pilots flying reconnaissance missions over the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon used commercial "fuzz-buster" radar detectors, mounted in pairs on the pilot's glare shield, to warn them of Surface-To-Air missile radars that the aircraft's built-in gear couldn't detect.

30. The "Dwight you ignorant slut" line from the office was a reference to a Dan Aykroyd skit on SNL. Even when teaching suicide awareness Michael Scott was making jokes.

After being stuck charging 5 cent/bottle for various reasons, the Coca-Cola Company approached the U.S. Treasury Department asking them to mint a 7.5 cent coin in 1953, as a method to increase their prices without requiring two coins for vending machine sales.

32. There is a type of bacteria (D. acidovarans) that poops gold.

33. Most insurance companies will provide discounts or reimbursements for gym memberships to keep you healthy.

34. In 2002, a fight between three Florida inmates over the theft of a pet spider resulted in life-threatening skull injuries to one inmate.

35. In 1862, Abraham Lincoln wanted to deport free African Americans to Brazil. The plan failed because Brazil said no.